Interchangeable lock cores



Sept. 21, 1965 F. E. BEST INTERCHANGEABLE LOCK CORES Filed Feb. 28. 1963iMiiQiibi-E 15:5 @3759 Q mijzm 43 SOLDER 0 m 3 u w u m w AAA/2f, 4 4 2 s4 United States Patent 3,206,959 INTERHANGEABLE LOCK CORES Frank EllisonBest, P.0, Box 103, Indianapolis, Ind. Filed Feb. 28, 1963, Ser. No.261,744 8 Claims. ((11. 70-373) This specification, taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings show my new discoveries and inventions ininterchangeable lock cores over the old structure first invented by memore than 40 years ago.

FIGURES 1 to 9 inclusive show the old core as it has been continuouslymanufactured since I an. 2, 1925.

FIGS. to 12 inclusive show the new core as herein disclosed and claimed.

A general object of this invention is to provide a lock core of theinterchangeable lock controlled assembly type in which a combined keyplug housing and tumbler pin housing is constructed substantiallyentirely of sheet metal parts that are suitably shaped by stamping,rolling, bending, folding and pressing and are soldered together in sucha manner as to attain the following objects and advantages:

(l) Reduce material costs by using lesser amounts of less expensivetypes of materials.

(2) Reduce manufacturing costs by eliminating and simplifying oldmanufacturing processes and methods.

(3) Gain better concentricity of parts and improve contact surfaces byreplacing machined extruded parts by roll-ups and fold-ups stamped outof less expensive sheet metal.

(4) Increase the life and strength of core parts.

(5 Improve the ease of operating the lock.

(6) Greatly simplify the assembly problems.

(7) Render the assembling and combinating of the cores moreautomationable.

These and other objects and advantages will be apparent upon examinationof the following description and accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the old figure-8 shaped core 14 with itscontrol key 15 in vertical, insertable and Withdrawable position andwith its locking lug 16 extended.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the same with its control key 15 turneda few degrees to the right from its position in FIG. 1 and with itslocking lug 16 retracted by the slight movement of the key 15.

FIG. 3 is a vertical axial section of said old core 14 showing itscontrol key 15 laid in, and its control shear line 17 lined up forshearing operation.

FIG. 4 is a vertical axial section of said old core 14 showing anoperating key 18 laid in and its operating shear line lined up forshearing operation.

FIG. 5 is a transverse section of old core 14 as taken on line 55 ofFIGS. 3, 4, and 7 showing old body 21 and housing 21 with its receptacleopening 22.

FIG. 6 is a transverse section of old core 14 as taken onlline 6-6 ofFIGS. 3, 4, and 7 showing old body on y.

FIG. 7 is a side view of the old core 14 showing face 23, and lockinglug 16 in extended position.

FIG. 8 is a transverse section of old core 14 in dotted silhouetteoutline 24 as taken on line 55 of FIGS. 3, 4, and 7 showing the oldsleeve 25 in full section.

FIG. 9 is a transverse section of the same at taken on line 66 of FIGS.3, 4, and 7.

FIG. 10 is a transverse section of the new core body 26, new sleeve 29and housing 21 as taken on line 5-5 of FIG. 11.

FIG. 11 is a side elevational view, with parts broken away, of the newcore body 26 showing parts of the key plug housing and parts of thetumbler pin housing 28 3,236,959 Patented Sept. 21, 1965 and face 32 andshowing the combined locking lug and tumbler pin holder 30 in anextended position.

FIG. 12 is a transverse sectional view of the new core body 26 togetherwith the combined locking lug and tumbler pin holder 30 and spacersleeve 31, as taken on line 6-6 of FIG. 11.

The new core body 26 comprises key plug housing 27 and pin tumblerhousing 28 and the new sleeve 29 comprises pin-tumbler holder 30 andspacer 31.

It is contemplated to make the key plug housing 27 of sheet metal rolledor otherwise similarly formed to the proper shape and to solder the sameto the tumbler pin housing 28 at the locations indicated by 43 in FIGS.10 and 12, using either silver solder or other suitable solder.

You will notice, FIG. 11, that pin tumbler housing 28 is soldered to newface 32 at 44.

In the past, we have made the old bodies 20, FIGS. 5 and 6 out of solidfigure-8 shaped brass extrusions, by drilling holes 33 and 34 andbroaching upper hole area 35 out of the solid bar extrusion stock. Thusabout half of this extrusion material went into the scrap barrel. Alsowe were never able to satisfactorily keep said drilled holes 34concentric with the outside outline 36 (FIGS. 5 and 6.)

Likewise we made the old sleeve 25, FIGS. 8 and 9, out of solid brassbar extrusion stock also by drilling holes 37 therethrough. Thus abouthalf of this extrusion also went into the scrap barrel and here also wewere never able to satisfactorily keep the inside and outside surfaces38 and 39 respectively of these sleeves concentric. (See FIG. 8.)

Furthermore, the extruded material was much more costly per 1b. tofabricate than regular shapes and was procurable only from sourceshaving the extrusion dies, which wa very restrictive and often causedexpensive and damaging delays.

Furthermore, the drilling and broaching processes above mentioned werealso very costly processes.

When I discovered that it was not necessary to make the sleeve out of asingle integral piece of material, but that a plurality of segmentscould be securely trapped in place and could be used even to all theadvantages recited above, this invention dawned on my mind.

Then I discovered that the body also could be fabricated advantageouslyby using a plurality of parts soldered together, FIGS. 10 and 12, inplace of the old solid, onepiece body of FIGS. 5 and 6.

Then I discovered that pin tumbler housing 28 could be made of thickergauge material than key plug housing 27 so as to improve theconstruction.

Almost concurrently with making these discoveries, I discovered that byusing sheet metal with parallel and finely calendered surfaces for keyplug housing 27, pintumbler holder 30, and spacer 31, all of ourprevious concentricity problems were solved as by magic, and at the sametime the finely calendered harder surfaces worked upon each other withless friction, all of which contributed to a much superior lock core ata greatly reduced material and manufacturing cost.

FIGS. 9, l0 and 11 show primary lock mechanism made in accordance withmy above outlined discoveries and adapted for use in a lock housing 21which is the same as the housing 21 shown in FIG. 5. The new lock partsshown in FIGS. 9, 10 and 11 comprise a tubular key plug housing member27 having a cylindrical portion shaped and sized to fit snugly andtelescopically within the lowermost lobe or part of the figure-8 shapedreceptacle in the lock housing 21 and further having an outwardlyprotruding hollow locking lug receiving portion of substantial width anddepth which extends upwardly through the narrowed waist part of thefigure-8 shaped receptacle into the uppermost lobe or part of saidreceptacle and recelves and houses the locking lug 30. Two terminalportions of the part of housing 27 which receives the locking lug 30protrude upwardly, as shown in FIGS. and 12, and receive therebetweenthe pin tumbler housing 28 and are soldered to said housing 28 at thelocations indicated by the numeral 43.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States of America, is:

1. In a lock of the classin which the assembly 'is lock controlled, alock housing having therein a receptacle of substantially figure-8 crosssectional shape adapted to receive primarylock mechanism; a tubular keyplug housing of thin sheet metal having a part of generally cylindricalcross sectional shape adapted to fit telescopically within one part ofthe figure-8 shaped receptacle in said lock housing; and a sheet metaltumbler pin housing soldered to said tubular key plug housing andadapted to be disposed in the other part of the figure-8 shapedreceptacle in said lock housing.

2. In a lock of the class in which the assembly is lock controlled, alock housing having therein a receptacle of substantially figure-8 crosssectional shape adapted to slidably and telescopically into one part ofthe figure-8 shaped receptacle in said lock housing and having atransversely protruding portion adapted to extend into the other part ofthe figure-8 shaped receptacle in said lock housing; and a sheet metaltumbler pin housing soldered to said transversely protruding portion ofsaid key plug housing.

3. A look as defined in claim 2 wherein the substantially cylindricalportion of said key plug housing is transpierced by a spacer sleevewhich fits snugly and is rotatively movable a limited amount in saidsubstantially cylindrical portion.

4. In a lock of the class in which the asembly is lock controlled, alock housing having therein a receptacle of substantially figure-8 crosssectional shape adapted to receive primary lock mechanism; a tubularsheet metal key plug housing including a substantially cylindricalportion adapted to fit telescopically into one part of the figure-8shaped receptacle in said lock housing and a transversely protrudingportion adapted to extend into the other part of the figure-8 shapedreceptacle in said lock housing; a sheet metal tumbler pin housingsoldered to said transversely protruding portion of said key plughousing; a tubular sheet metal spacer sleeve rotatively disposed andfitting snugly within the cylindrical part of said key plug housing; anda combined locking lug and tumbler pin holder rigid with said sleeve andmovable by rotary movement of said sleeve into locking engagement withsaid lock housing.

5. A lock of the class in which the assembly is lock controlledcomprising a lock housing having therein a receptacle of substantiallyfigure-8 cross sectional shape formed of two intersecting parallel boresnormally disposed one above the other and adapted to receive primarylock mechanism; a tubular sheet metal key plug housing including asubstantially cylindrical part adapted to fit slidably andtelescopically into the lowermost bore of the figure-8 shapedreceptacle; a longitudinally disposed external transversely protrudingportion on the substantially part of said key plug housing adapted toextend into the uppermost bore of said figure-8 shaped receptacle, saidtransversely protruding portion comprising a hollow locking lugreceiving part having substantial width and depth and two flat parallelterminal parts extending upwardly from said locking lug receiving part;a sheet metal tumbler pin housing telescopically engaged with andsoldered to said. two flat parallel terminal parts; a tubular spacersleeve of thin sheet metal snugly fitting and 0p eratively disposedwithin the cylindrical part of said key plug housing; and a combinedlocking lu and tumbler pin holder rigid with said sleeve and operativelydisposed for limited rotary movement at least partly Within said lockinglug receiving part ofsaid key-plug housing.

6. A lock as defined in claim 5 wherein the spacer sleeve .is stampedout of sheet metal and rolled into cylind'rical shape and the combinedlocking lug and tumbler pin holder is a separately formed elementrigidly attached to said spacer sleeve.

7. A lock as defined in claim 5 wherein the sheet metal of'which saidlock core housing is formed is of uniformly calendered thickness.

8. A lock as defined in claim 5 wherein a lock face is soldered to anend portion of said sheet metal tumbler pin housing.

7 References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS ALBERT H.KAMPE, Primary Examiner.

1. IN A LOCK OF THE CLASS IN WHICH THE ASSEMBLY IS LOCKL CONTROLLED, ALOCK HOUSING HAVING THEREIN A RECEPTACLE OF SUBSTANTIALLY FIGURE-8 CROSSSECTIONAL SHAPE ADAPTED TO RECEIVE PRIMARY LOCK MECHANISM; A TUBULAR KEYPLUG HOUSING OF THIN SHEET METAL HAVING A PART OF GENERALLY CYLINDRICALCROSS SECTIONAL SHAPE ADAPTED TO FIT TELESCOPICALLY WITHIN ONE PART OFTHE FIGURE-8 SHAPED RECEPTACLE IN SAID LOCK HOUSING; AND A SHEET METALTUMBLER PIN HOUSING SOLDERED TO SAID TUBULAR KEY PLUG HOUSING ANDADAPTED TO BE DIS-